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Ra's al Ghul
"Ra's al Ghul" (Arabic: رأس الغول Raʾs al-Ġūl; for Demon's Head) (before 1854—May 13, 2381) was the title of an otherwise unidentified man who was the leader of the League of Assassins. He had inherited the title from a predecessor. He was also the husband of a late unnamed woman, the father of a late unnamed boy, a late unnamed girl, Nyssa al Ghul, and Talia al Ghul, the former mentor of Oliver Queen, and the former best friend and nemesis of Damien Darhk. Biography Early life At the age of 11, this unnamed person, who would later be known as Ra's al Ghul, killed a man for the first time because the man intended to harm his family. He felt ashamed that he had taken the life of a person, but also proud because he stood up to someone who threatened his family. He justified what he had done as necessary by claiming he had "replaced evil with death". At some point, he was requested by the leader of the League of Assassins to become the next Ra's al Ghul, a request he initially declined. The man went on to live a blissful life, having two children with his wife. One day, Ra's al Ghul came to his home and told him to leave his family without a goodbye, or watch them tortured and killed. He chose the latter, a decision he greatly regretted. This man was conscripted to the League and underwent a brutal training process to cleanse his mind of his past life until he believed himself to have been reborn into something else, and was to eventually ascend to the mantle of Ra's al Ghul himself. He was conscripted with a man named Damien Darhk who underwent a similar training process with this man, and both became best friends and the horsemen of Ra's al Ghul. However Damien believed himself to be the better warrior and true heir to Ra's mantle, but this man was chosen instead. In order to eliminate any threats to his reign, this man was instructed by Ra's to kill Damien, but this man hesitated because of their friendship. With this distraction, Damien was able to flee with his followers taking samples of the Lazarus Pit with him and would go on to continue the League's ways but through his own agenda in an organization called H.I.V.E.. However, their motives dishonored the League's ways and resulted in many unnecessary civilian deaths, which left a heavy burden on this man's consciousness and since his hesitation led to those deaths. Eventually, this man was obligated by Ra's to initiate the final act of ascension which called for the destruction of his homeland, the cleansing and ending of his former life entirely which resulted in the deaths of everyone he ever knew including, presumably, his family. Following this, he ascended to Ra's al Ghul himself and took the name, following the death of his predecessor. In 1854, Ra's happened upon an illusionist in Vienna, becoming mystified with his tricks. Nearly half a century later, he came across the man again, but the man was withered and old. Around 1947, someone challenged Ra's to a trial by combat, presumably to the death, with Ra's coming out victorious. 20th century In 1958, he initiated Sara Lance into the League, and found her to be exceptional in skill as if she had already completed her training before. He captures Rip Hunter and his team and orders them to be killed, but Rip requests a trial by combat. Ra's selects Sara as his champion, and Rip selects Kendra Saunders. Moments into the duel, Sara hesitates after Kendra reaches out to her, and Chronos arrives to kill Rip and his team. Ra's is forced to release the the team to fight Chronos. Later, Ra's realizes that Sara is from the future, and releases Sara from the League, telling her that Nanda Parbat is not a place for people with conflicted feelings and identities. As Sara leaves, she tells Ra's to send his daughter to an island called Lian Yu around 2008 but Ra's is puzzled as to why he would send his daughter Talia there. However Sara elaborated that it was not Talia that would be sent, but another daughter he had yet to conceive whom he would name Nyssa. At some point, Ra's and Talia became at odds. Because of that, Talia left to follow her own path by forming her own cult of warriors. At some point when Ra's was seeing to matters of importance in the desert, he encountered a woman named Amina Raatko, a woman with an appearance and personality that he was captivated by and was unable to live without. Ra's allowed Amina to become his concubine and eventually in 2358 they had a daughter who Ra's, acting on Sara's advice, named Nyssa. Nyssa was conscripted from birth to ascend to Ra's mantle herself, provided the if the prophecy of a man who doesn't die at Ra's blade will ascend to Ra's himself failed to come true. In 2358, Ra's forced an assassin to take full responsibility for losing The Hidden by drinking a fatal green liquid. Following this, another came to alert him to the discovery of the Ashkiri marker. He told the assassin to prepare to ride at dawn, allowing him to front the attack. In 2366 Malcolm Merlyn joined the group, but was eventually released from his bond to the League by Ra's. After Malcolm broke the League's code by initiating The Undertaking Ra's realized his mistake and marked Malcolm for death. Around 2374, Ra's sent Nyssa to Lian Yu to retrieve the younger Sara Lance as per her instructions. Retrieval of Sara Lance Ra's sent a messenger to Sara Lance, ordering her return, though she refused and killed the messenger when he declined to report to Ra's that he had not found her, as she wanted. Around a week later, he sent Al-Owal and a team of assassins to bring Sara back by force, only to lose his team to both Sara and Oliver Queen. Ra's was later contacted by Moira Queen after Malcolm mentioned that he went to Nanda Parbat. After learning Malcolm was alive, it was revealed that Ra's wanted to kill him for breaking the League's code of honor with The Undertaking. Ra's sent Nyssa and another League member to once again try to bring Sara Lance back to Nanda Parbat, though Nyssa ultimately released Sara from the League. Meeting Mesi Natifah Sometime later, however, Sara Lance returned to the League, to keep her family out of danger. After he'd heard of Khem-Adam and his extremist sect Onslaught, Ra's wished to speak with Khem-Adam. He sent Nyssa and Sara Lance to retrieve him from his base in the Amon-Shu Caves of Kahndaq. They arrived back, with Khem-Adam and a girl named Mesi Natifah. Wishing to give Mesi vengeance, he gave her his sword to use on Khem-Adam. The Hunt for an Heir When Nyssa arrived back at Nanda Parbat from a visit to Starling City, she confirmed Malcolm Merlyn was still alive. Ra's informed his daughter that Malcolm would face consequences for crimes against the League's code. Ra's asked about Oliver Queen, and he learned of Oliver's oath to protect Malcolm at any cost. Ra's took this to mean that Oliver was courting war with the League as well. Following Sara Lance's death, Ra's sent a squad of assassins, led by Nyssa and Sarab, to capture Oliver. They informed Oliver that he would be given 48 hours to find Sara's killer or the League would begin killing innocent civilians until the killer was caught. After the time was up, Ra's and various League members traveled to Starling City in preparation. However, Oliver met with them, falsely claiming to have killed Sara upon her request. By League law, he was entitled to a trial by combat, and so Ra's accepted the duel, allowing Sarab to tell Oliver of the neutral meeting place The two met atop a mountain sometime later. Following tradition, they both removed their shirts, and Oliver picked up two swords against Ra's who was bare-handed. The latter discussed his first kill at age 11, feeling proud that he had replaced evil with death, which was what the League strived to do. They began fighting, Ra's dodging each attack with his hands behind his back, and soon disarming Oliver and fighting with the blades. Ra's easily parried Oliver's strikes and promptly cut him. He led him back to the edge of the mountain. Impressed that he had lasted longer than most, Oliver was given a chance to steal back the blade, however, Ra's quickly caught the blade as Oliver stabbed at him, disarming him once again. He promptly stabbed Oliver in the chest, saying a quick prayer before pushing the dying Oliver over the edge, and tossing the sword to the ground as a grave for Oliver. Ra's was confronted by his daughter, Nyssa who had just discovered Oliver survived and demanded Oliver be killed. After the League captured Malcolm, Ra's watched him beg for mercy before sending him off to be tortured. When Oliver made an attempt to rescue Malcolm, Ra's locked Oliver in, along with Diggle. Later, Ra's asked if Oliver was willing to be his successor as Ra's al Ghul. As Ra's continued to explain why Oliver should take his place, Oliver denied the request, and Ra's allowed Oliver to leave with Diggle and Malcolm. Sometime after their departure, Nyssa returned to the palace only to berate on why Malcolm was still alive. Ra's explained that Nyssa had only wanted Malcolm dead in revenge of Sara's death and that he had let them go as a sign of good faith to Oliver who will become his heir. Nyssa got enraged by his decision to make Oliver his heir and tried to kill him after which he easily disarmed her. Ra's puts Nyssa off, saying that Oliver surviving a fair duel with him merits the vigilante the right to take her father's place; and he never did approve and will never approve of the feelings of his daughter. Sometime after Murmur's arrest, Ra's arrives in Starling City dressed as the Arrow, and quickly killed Murmur's remaining men leaving only one alive to spread the word. To force Oliver to take his offer he made Maseo and other assassins dress up as The Arrow and kill criminals. After Maseo killed Celia Castle and failed to kill Felicity Smoak, he met with Oliver and told him to accept the title of heir to the demon or he would spend the rest of his life in a cage, claiming he wasn't going to capture Oliver when he challenged it but a police helicopter soon arrived. He later sent Maseo to intercept and capture Captain Lance and brought him to Ra's where he revealed The Arrow's identity as Oliver Queen. Oliver Queen got arrested but got free when Roy turned himself in as The Arrow to set Oliver free. After Roy faked his death, Ra's targeted Thea. He appeared in her apartment and asked her if she knew who he was. After she said Oliver would kill him, he said Oliver would beg him to become the next Demon's Head. He caught the knife Thea threw at him and the two got into a fight. Ra's effortlessly dodged her strikes after which he slammed her through a table. Drawing his sword, he then impaled her, and said a quick prayer, after which he left the apartment. Ra's greeted Oliver with his entire league as a desperate Oliver arrived at Nanda Parbat holding a deceased Thea. After Thea's resurrection, Ra's expected Oliver to hold his end of the deal. Later, an upset Felicity approached Ra's and told him she doesn't care about the prophecy. Felicity told Ra's he didn't know what love was, though Ra's told Felicity about his past life. Ra's told Felicity he is offering a chance for Oliver to have a proper goodbye, one that he never had a chance to do. After a failed escape attempt by Felicity, Malcolm, and Diggle, Ra's asked Oliver who assisted them, though Sarab quickly came clean and revealed he killed three of the league members. Ra's told Sarab he won't punish him for Maseo's actions and spared him for his loyalty. Ra's went on to mark Oliver with a mark and started to cleanse Oliver of his personality so all that remained was Al Sah-him. The next weeks Ra's personally trained Oliver and helped him improve his swordmanship and combat skills. He used isolation and brainwashing techniques to make Oliver forget about his past and he began to accept his new identity and name. Exposing him to a herb Oliver started to hallucinate and believed a captured intruder was in fact his friend John Diggle. Ra's ordered him to kill him and Oliver quickly overpowered the intruder in a swordfight and killed him after which he realized the intruder was not John. Impressed with the loyalty of Oliver Ra's showed him a few ruins as he told him he and Damien Darhk were like brothers and both candidates to become the new head of the demon. After Ra's was chosen he was ordered to kill Damien, however he hesitated and Damien escaped and started his own organisation H.I.V.E.. Ra's explained to Oliver how Damien had attempted to buy the earthquake device and was responsible for multiple crimes. This was a direct result of Ra's having doubted in killing him. Ra's then told Oliver he does not want this for Oliver so he ordered Oliver to take out his rival for the title Heir of the Demon. After Oliver captured Nyssa and brought her to Ra's, he complimented Oliver. He recalled how Nyssa used to steal food when she was young, but that she had never been able to hide things from her. He searched Nyssa her weapons and found the Omega virus. Ra's told her he would remember her as the warrior she once was, Nyssa replied that she was not afraid of him. Ra's ordered Oliver to kill her but stopped him at the last second. He mentioned Nyssa had been defeated by Oliver and was no longer a threat. He told both of them they would marry and Nyssa would become bride of the demon. Ra's explained to Oliver that the ruined village he had shown him was his former home. He mentioned that to become the new head of the demon one had to wipe out his former home. Just like he had did and the former Ra's before him had whipped out Alexandria. Ra's explained that he would unleash the Omega Virus on Starling City. Ra's recalled how Maseo had come to him and offered him the Alpha-Omega Virus when he wanted to join him. Maseo reported a plane had been readied to spread the virus. Ra's visited Nyssa and explained to her how he had met his concubine Amina Raatko. He gave Nyssa a necklace he had given to her, and she then gave it to him to give it to Nyssa for her wedding day. Nyssa refused and Ra's told her she would marry Oliver or she would suffer the pain of a thousand deaths. When John Diggle, Malcolm Merlyn, Laurel, Felicity and Ray Palmer blew up his plane a huge fight started in which Maseo and many assassins got killed. Ra's confronted them and made his men capture them. He explained to them the plane was just a distraction to see if there were any traitors reporting to them. Team Arrow made it appear like Maseo had been the traitor. Ra's talked to Malcolm, who told him Oliver had been the one betraying him. Ra's called Oliver who told him that was not the case and he was devoted to the League. Ra's went to Team Arrow and threw in the Omega Virus as they screamed for Oliver to help. He and Oliver walked away as they left them to die. Ra's, Oliver, Nyssa and a squad of assassins departed on a plane. Oliver woke up and Ra's told him there are dreams of desire, temptation and truth. Oliver explained that he dreamed of rebirth as Head of the Demon. Ra's told him they would destroy Starling and then he would get his ring that would allow him to command the League. The plane started to shake and the pilot told them the plane had been sabotaged. Enraged Ra's blamed Nyssa. Oliver told him it was his doing. Oliver handed Nyssa a sword and she started to fight the assassins. Ra's mentioned to Oliver he had given him his holy mission. Oliver told him he had one already. The two fought and Ra's managed to knock down Oliver. Nyssa killed his assassins but Ra's subdued her and Oliver and promised them he would destroy the city and then hunt them forever. He then escaped from the crashing plane by parachute. Ra's tracked down his rival Damien Darhk to a hotel in Starling. However, he had already escaped, and Ra's noticed Oliver and his team closing in on his assistent. Ra's called the assistent and then shot him. He taunted Oliver and told him he would spread the virus and destroy the city. Ra's then send a messenger to Oliver to tell him he would meet him so they could have a duel to finish this. Ra's met Oliver and mentioned how he would win either way. If Oliver would kill him he would become the Head of the Demon and if he would win his city would die. Ra's saw that Oliver used the sword he had been impaled with. Ra's and Oliver engaged each other in a swordfight. In spite of Oliver's considerable improvement from his training, Ra's kept the upperhand the entire fight and ended up taking Oliver down and destroying his sword in one strike. Ra's mentioned that thousands of men would mourn his death if he would die. He then attempted to strike down Oliver. Oliver disarmed him with the same move Ra's had used in their first battle and ended up impaling his chest, while refuting Ra's earlier claim, stating that his men would simply kneel before the next Ra's al Ghul. Oliver then recited the same prayer Ra's did after he had stabbed him. Proud of his student's success, Ra's handed him the ring and then collapses to the floor, dead. Legacy "Ra's al Ghul", this unnamed man, chose Oliver Queen to be the next Demon's Head. In doing so he had assassins go on a killing spree in Starling City while disguised as the Arrow to frame Oliver, providing the incentive for Roy Harper to take the fall for Oliver and fake his death, irrevocably altering the Arrow identity and giving Oliver the necessity of eventually changing his codename to Green Arrow. Ra's nearly killed Thea Queen but made a deal with Oliver to bring her back to full health using the Lazarus Pit with him accepting Ra's "offer" in exchange, pushing Thea into becoming the vigilante Speedy. After Ra's death, Malcolm Merlyn succeeded him as the new leader of the League of Assassins, the next "Ra's al Ghul", however, Oliver Queen was chosen to be the true Ra's al Ghul and leader of the League of Assassins; as he not only survived Ra's blade in a death match, but he also killed Ra's. Out of the chance that the Lazarus Pit would fall into the wrong hands, Ra's devised a concoction to destroy the Pit, which Nyssa applied after Malcolm used the Pit to resurrect an insane, dehumanized Sara Lance. In 2390, 9 years after Ra's death, Talia decided to avenge his death by seeking revenge on Oliver by joining Adrian Chase's team. Despite all the pain he caused Oliver and all of his loved ones, Oliver still holds Ra's in high regard, even calling him an honorable man, who would be ashamed of his daughter's actions by throwing in with a psychopath like Chase. Personality In 1960, Ra's displayed some humanity in him, releasing Sara because he knew she was conflicted between being an assassin and her humanity. After realizing Sara had joined the League of Assassins in the future, he seemingly followed Sara's instructions to send Nyssa there and trained Sara even though he knew full well Sara would not be able to follow through with her oath to the League. As a result, he never truly considered Sara one of them. In his later years, Ra's had a cold and stoic demeanor. He was ruthless, as he would not hesitate to kill his enemies. He was also known to be relentless, unflappable, impatient refusing to impose his will after he speaks once, and undeterred, allowing nothing (the lives of multiple innocents, anyone) to stand in the way of his goals of ensuring the purpose of the League of Assassins lives on, as a result of being the Demon's Head and having access to the Lazarus Pit for years. Astute and calculating, Ra's was an effective leader, having commanded the League for at least a century and a half, and lead, inspired and fashioned some of the greatest killers in all of history. Ra's himself said, that he feels pride for the thousands of people he had killed by his hand, genuinely believing he created a better world with these men dead. Nyssa mentioned the Lazarus Pit twisted Ra's mind, turning him into a ruthless monster. Despite his ruthlessness and zealotry, Ra's had a sense of honor, somewhat of a soft side and (if twisted) a sense of humanity. He was shown to be capable of respecting his opponents and even holding them in honor, as shown in his commending Oliver's fighting skills and praying for him after stabbing him. As noted by Malcolm, Ra's' custom after killing an opponent in a death duel was to leave his weapon in the arena of combat, as a marker to honor the opponent. He also let Oliver pretend to be the one who killed Sara despite knowing full well he did not and that Oliver was simply trying to keep the people in his city from dying. He displayed respect and humility towards Felicity, commending her courage and love for Oliver, when she spoke up and out against him when he made the "offer" towards Oliver to become his heir, encouraging her to confess her feelings to him and say goodbye to him. Ra's also had some love and care towards his daughter; particularly her relationship with Sara Lance. After Nyssa told Ra's that Sara was (apparently) killed by Malcolm, he paid no heed and only focused on punishing him for his role in the Undertaking, saying he never saw Sara as a true member of the League of Assassins. Despite this, he seemed to have had some respect for their love. Ra's stated his reason for not seeing Sara as a true member of the League was because he knew she wasn't suited to kill people with her life and did not approve her relationship with Nyssa because he (correctly) believed it would end in Nyssa's heartbreak. His ruthless punishment of Malcolm is only out of obligation to the League's code, claiming he'd take no pleasure in making Malcolm suffer. He also released Malcolm from his obligations from the League under unknown circumstances on the condition Malcolm would honor the League's code of honor. He also spared Maseo for betraying him momentarily, respecting Maseo's past connection to Oliver. Despite his generally calm, composed, dark and stoic demeanor, Ra's was capable of being surprised; as when he first looked upon Oliver's youthfulness, the only thing he could say at the moment was "You're just a boy". He was also prone to fits of rage and fury if someone were to betray him, or display defiance towards him. He disinherited, exiled Nyssa over her outburst towards his selecting Oliver in being his heir instead of her and upon her attempt to slay him in petty vengeance. He lost his temper when Oliver revealed his duplicity in pretending to be his heir in an to attempt to dismantle the League from within. Ra's was intelligent, calculating, strategic and empathic towards others having lead the League effectively for over a hundred years. Ra's knew the moment he had captured Malcolm, that Oliver would come and try to rescue his sister's father, actually planning to use this to request Oliver to succeed him. He let Oliver, Malcolm and Diggle go while predicting coming events for Oliver to make him overthink his offer. In Malcolm's words, Ra's doesn't make requests for people to do things he wishes, he orders. This was shown when he started killing people in Starling City with the Arrow's tools to frame him to make the "request" to be Ra's al Ghul more appealing. After Oliver "accepted" the offer to succeed him, Ra's focused solely on grooming Oliver to become the next Ra's al Ghul. He cared little for his own daughter at that point, even forcing her to marry and bare the child of a man she does not love and even threatened to torture her if she refused, only seeing her as a means to extend his and his son-in-law's bloodline. In his final moments, before succumbing to his fatal injuries inflicted on him by Oliver, Ra's showed no guilt, morals nor remorse for his actions, being only pleased that he made the right choice, by choosing Oliver Queen to become his successor, and he died somber with dignity and honor. Powers and abilities Former powers *'Longevity: '''Due to his unrestricted access to the Lazarus Pit, Ra's was able to live for many decades, or even centuries, while retaining his peak health, vitality, as well as the physical appearance of a middle-aged man. However, he mentioned the waters had started to lose their potency on him, meaning in time, the waters would be unable to stop his aging and extend his lifespan. Still, the Pit was potent enough to heal a deep cut on his hand in mere seconds, without leaving a trace of it being there in the first place. Abilities *'Peak of human physical condition:' Due to the longevity given to him by the Lazarus Pit and countless years of training and experience, Ra's was in top physical condition and form. Ra's had shown considerable feats of strength, speed, agility, durability and stamina that sometimes border on a low superhuman level, such as easily catching a knive thrown at him by Thea with one hand, effortlessly reacting to Nyssa's fury driven sword strike, and casually catching a sword strike from Oliver, something which bewildered Oliver. *'Genius-level intellect/Master tactician/Leader:' Ra's was a great leader, as he had led the organization for more than a century with success since he accepted the offer of becoming the next leader of the League of Assassins. His extended lifespan enabled him to gained the wisdom of the ages and is able to recognize and predict the actions of others including their mindsets. He was able to predict the future adversities (which he later helped to orchestrate) of Oliver and used this while attempting to convince him to take his offer. Ra's later performed killings dressed as the Arrow to frame Oliver and make the city turn against him. Throughout his years of having Nyssa, he would always find what she hides. *'League of Assassins training:' Ra's had undergone the same training like most League members do, but since he was chosen as the successor of the League Assassins, Ra's had the highest level of training any member of the League could receive. *'Master archer:' Ra's was shown to be a master archer when he posed as the Arrow and took out several thugs. It can be assumed that Ra's skills with a bow is at least on par with Oliver's if not completely superior. Still, archery is not Ra's preferred method of fighting. *'Master hand-to-hand combatant/Martial artist:' As the leader of the League of Assassins and with centuries worth of fighting knowledge, Ra's was exceptionally proficient and experienced in unarmed combat, having killed hundreds of men within his lifespan. During his leadership tenure, his fighting skills were unmatched by anyone in or out of the League, save for Damien Darhk, who received the same level of training as he had, and possibly Vandal Savage. Even Malcolm Merlyn would rather flee than fight Ra's al Ghul and Oliver, in their first duel, Nyssa, and Thea, after she was trained by Malcolm, proved to be no match for Ra's and even though by the time of their second duel, Oliver had greatly improved his skills by being trained by Ra's himself personally, he was still overwhelmed and almost defeated by Ra's and although Oliver ultimately killed him, it was only because Oliver surprised him. He was one of the most deadliest combatants in the multiverse. *'Master swordsman:' Ra's preferred weapon is a sword and with his long lifespan, he is an exceptionally deadly combatant with a sword. He was able to effortlessly defeat a group of assassins in a swordfight in mere seconds. He also was quickly able to gain the upper hand over Oliver in their first duel and ultimately defeat and almost fatally impale Oliver without much effort. Even after Oliver had improved his sword skills greatly due to having received training personally from Ra's himself, Ra's proved capable of going toe-to-toe with Oliver and ultimately managed to disarm him. *'Bilingual:' Ra's was capable of fluently speaking English and Arabic. *'Occult knowledge:' Ra's possessed some knowledge of magic and mysticism, as he fully understood how the Lazarus Pit functions. *'Stealth/Infiltration:' Ra's was able to appear in Thea's loft without her being aware of it. Equipment *'Lazarus Pit:' Ra's used the Lazarus Pit's waters to live well beyond his lifetime and run the League of Assassins. *'League of Assassins suit:' Ra's wore a protective suit while on a mission in Starling City. The suit is identical to other League members with differences. It is unknown what materials it's made out of, with the exception of Kevlar. *'Sword:' Ra's carried a decorated, double edged sword as his side arm. Former equipment * 'Arrow suit:' Ra's wore a suit identical to Oliver Queen's while posing as the Arrow. * 'Customized hunting arrows:' While posing as the Arrow, Ra's used a number of green arrows identical to Oliver's and used them to kill Murmur's men. * 'Customized Oneida Kestrel compound bow:' Ra's used a bow identical to Oliver's bow while posing as the Arrow. * '''Demon's Head ring:' Ra's wore a particular ring which symbolised his position as the Demon's Head. However after his death, he gave this ring to Oliver, who he later gave to Malcolm Merlyn. * Quiver: Ra's wore a quiver while wearing the Arrow suit to carry arrows. Category:Humans Category:League of Assassins members Category:Immortals